This invention relates to the processing of soybeans into palatable products, and particularly to a process for soaking and boiling soybeans to soften them to a crunchy state and yet impart an appealing flavor and/or fragrance to the final product in an unusually short time.
Despite its high nutritional value, its long history of use in the food preparations among Asian cultures, and the ease and low cost of its cultivation, the soybean has failed to gain widespread acceptance as a food product for human consumption. The difficulty lies in the tough skin of the bean which requires soaking for sixteen to twenty-four hours prior to cooking in order to produce a palatable product. In addition, the tough skin, unlike that of similar legumes, is particularly difficult to remove from the soybean.
To date, there are only two widely used methods for processing soybeans. The first involves the crushing of the bean followed by subsequent restructuring of the nutrient particles, as in the preparation of tofu, soy isolates, soy flour and soy powders. The second is the fermentation of the bean, as in the production of such products as tempeh, natto, miso, koji, shoyu and sufu. Each of these processes is costly and time consuming and completely changes the nature of the bean.